BankThink

Morning Scan: Plotting Against Mnuchin; 'The Big Short' Goes Long on Banks

12/22/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Pay up: The European Court of Justice ruled that Spanish lenders must reimburse mortgage borrowers for charging them excess interest payments on variable-rate mortgages. The ruling, which can't be appealed, follows a 2013 decision by Spain's highest court that outlawed "mortgage floor" agreements on loans because banks didn't pass along the savings from low rates to customers. The ECJ confirmed the Spanish court decision but also said borrowers could seek reimbursement for...

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ICBA's Suit Against NCUA Over Business Lending Is Meritless

12/21/16

The National Credit Union Administration acted appropriately, within its legal authority, when issuing its member business lending rule.

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Where Should Trump Start on China Trade Policy? Visa and Mastercard

12/21/16

President-elect Trump has threatened retaliatory tariffs on China if they cheat on their trading obligations. A good place to start would be ChinaÂ's payment-card market.

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Identity Pros Need Their Own Industry Association

12/21/16

With identity management now established as a distinct industry, it needs an organization to nurture its practitioners like those that exist for the privacy and security sectors.

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Morning Scan: Crack Down on Student Borrowers; More Criticism for Wells

12/21/16

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Collecting: The federal government is increasingly garnishing student loan borrowers' Social Security checks to recover unpaid student debt "most of it borrowed years ago to cover their own educations but some used to pay for their children's schooling," according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. Since 2001, the government has collected more than $1 billion from Social Security recipients of all ages to cover unpaid student loans, with $171 million...

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California Measure: A Glimmer of Hope for Legal Pot Banking

12/20/16

Following the passage of the November ballot initiative, it is hugely important that cannabis businesses in the nation's largest state be able to secure bank accounts, at a minimum.

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Risk Weights or Leverage Ratio? We Need Both

12/20/16

The banking system ultimately needs a balanced approach to capital, which allows banks to efficiently function while also maintaining financial stability.

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Morning Scan: Hedge Fund Execs Nabbed; Lloyd's Buys BofA's UK Credit Cards

12/20/16

Breaking News This Morning ...

Deal: Lloyds Banking Group agreed to buy Bank of America's U.K. credit card business, called MBNA Limited, for about $2.4 billion. The deal, which includes about $8.7 billion in assets, would boost Lloyd's share of the British card market from 15% to 26%, about the same share as market leader Barclays. "The deal culminates years of upheaval and reorganization at the bank, which the British government bailed out in the middle...

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Flashback: Long Before Watson, Banks Explored AI

12/19/16

The appeal of information pathways such as the internet were seen as possibly bringing about a "comeback" for artificial intelligence in financial services Â-- in the 1990s.

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It's Time for an Office of National Housing Policy

12/19/16

One step the government can take is to create a unified office dedicated to housing finance and policy to streamline existing agencies and programs and make them more efficient.

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